Even a modest patch behind a terraced house can keep you in salad leaves, herbs, courgettes and runner beans from late spring right through to the first frosts. The secret isn't cramming in more plants than the space can support, but planning carefully, choosing crops that earn their room, and letting wildlife do some of the work for you. Here's how to get started.

Measure First, Then Plan Your Beds

Before you buy a single seed packet, spend half an hour with a tape measure and a notebook. You need to know how much sun each corner of the garden receives, because most kitchen crops want six hours or more of direct light a day. South-facing walls and fences are gold dust; deep shade under a neighbour's conifer is best left for salads and mint.

When it comes to layout, raised beds are usually the sensible choice for small UK gardens. They warm up faster in spring, drain well after our inevitable wet spells, and save your back. A bed just 1.2 metres wide is ideal because you can reach the middle from either side without treading on the soil. Traditional rows are a waste of space in a tiny plot — instead, sow in blocks or bands, which also helps shade out weeds.

Don't overlook containers and vertical space. A sturdy pot of herbs by the door, a grow bag against a sunny wall and a few deep troughs on a patio can all be productive. If you have a fence, fix trellis to it and grow climbing beans or cucumbers upwards rather than outwards.

Choose Crops That Pay Their Rent

In a compact garden, every plant needs to justify its footprint. Forget maincrop potatoes and big brassicas like sprouts, which take months and occupy enormous ground. Focus on cut-and-come-again crops and anything expensive or tasteless to buy.

• Salad leaves — sow little and often in a shallow bed or trough for a continuous supply from April to October.
• Herbs — basil, parsley, coriander, chives and thyme are pricey in shops and thrive in pots.
• Runner beans and climbing French beans — heavy croppers that grow upwards, so they suit a small footprint perfectly.
• Courgettes — two plants will feed a household generously; give them a sunny spot and plenty of water.
• Tomatoes — bush varieties work well in pots, or cordon types up a cane against a warm wall.
• Radishes and spring onions — quick, cheerful and perfect for filling gaps between slower crops.
• Chard and spinach — cut the outer leaves and the plant keeps producing for months.

Avoid the temptation to grow everything at once. Successional sowing — a small pinch of seed every two or three weeks — gives you steady harvests instead of a glut followed by nothing.

Make Room for Wildlife

A kitchen garden and a wildlife garden aren't rivals; they're partners. Bees and hoverflies pollinate your beans, courgettes and tomatoes, while ladybirds and lacewings keep aphids in check. The trick is to weave small habitat features into the productive space rather than setting aside a separate wild corner you don't have.

Let a few herbs flower. Chives, thyme and rosemary are beautiful in bloom and irresistible to pollinators. Grow a pot of calendula or borage near your courgettes and watch the bees pour in. Leave a small dish of water at ground level with a few pebbles in it so insects can drink safely.

Resist reaching for sprays at the first sign of greenfly. A healthy garden with flowers, a bit of untidiness and some leaf litter will build up natural predators within a season. If aphids do get out of hand, a firm blast from the hose usually sorts them out.

Get the Soil and Watering Right

The best investment you can make is in your soil. Fork in plenty of well-rotted compost or garden compost each spring, and mulch the surface with more to lock in moisture. In raised beds, a mix of topsoil and compost holds water far better than cheap multipurpose alone, which dries out alarmingly in July.

Watering little and often is a common mistake. Soak thoroughly two or three times a week rather than giving a daily sprinkle, and always aim at the roots rather than the leaves. Early morning or evening is best. A simple drip line or soaker hose on a timer takes the guesswork out of hot spells and saves water.

Feed hungry crops like tomatoes and courgettes with a fortnightly liquid feed once they start flowering. Everything else will manage perfectly well on good compost.

Keep It Going Through the Year

Small gardens respond quickly to attention, which is both their charm and their challenge. Pinch out tomato sideshoots, keep picking beans so they crop on, and pull weeds while they're tiny. As each crop finishes, don't leave bare soil — tuck in a quick salad sowing, some winter spinach or a green manure like field beans to protect the ground.

By October you can be harvesting leeks, kale and winter salad from the same beds that gave you courgettes in July. Plan a simple rotation — leaf crops, then roots, then legumes — and you'll keep the soil healthy without ever needing much space. Start small, learn what your plot does well, and let the garden tell you what to grow next year.